‘Downton Abbey’ Season 3 Slogs Slightly Sans Sybil
‘Lie’ is so unmusical a word.
After weeks of weddings (completed or otherwise), childbirth, and tragedy, it makes sense that Downton Abbey would slow things down in Season 3’s fifth installment. The fallout from Sybil’s death genuinely deserves a moment to breathe, particularly as the show (and its viewership!) is attempting to recalibrate to its heartbreaking new normal. The family’s struggle to figure out what every aspect of their lives will look like in Sybil’s absence is, indeed, compelling stuff.
Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for the rest of the episode: a slow-moving, not particularly memorable affair made up of nice character moments and hints at larger subplots that will unfold at some still-to-come later date. Season 3’s worst sin is its uneven pacing, which crammed what feels like a year’s worth of drama into its first half and is now slogging toward an ending we all know will once again upend everything about the series and its world.
Plus, with the show’s primary plot bogged down in grief and sorrow, it’s more apparent than ever that Season 3’s secondary storylines are just... not that good. The Bates-in-Prison story passed into mind-numbingly tedious territory somewhere around four episodes ago, and it’s hard to imagine that anyone cares about the downstairs love quadrangle Alfred, Jimmy, Ivy, and Daisy are entangled in.
